Xu Shiying hated these traitors in his bones, and he was simply the scum of China.

The wise emperor was clearly aware of the dangers of silver as currency, and as a result, these people not only obstructed the imperial court's ban on silver, but also colluded with the Dongying people to mine silver mines, which was simply to help the Dongying people loot the wealth of China.

In fact, he had already found out the crimes of the Jiangnan business, and Hou Haotian in front of him had to punish the nine clans to resolve his hatred, so he asked Hou Haotian to be detained.

As for the members of the other Jiangnan firms, they naturally want to catch them all, and are ready to escort these traitors back to Daming with Hou Haotian for the harshest sentence.

After dealing with these traitors, they moved on to other important matters.

Although it was a day later than Wang Zhi to capture the inner city of Zhoufang, it did not take a single soldier to capture the city, and it was easy to control the surrounding villages that were suffering from food shortages.

As for Otomo Qinzhi who led 5,000 people to come, the original nearly 10,000 soldiers still had some regrets, and now they can use this to fight an ambush war.

Now the time, place, and people are all on Xu Shiying's side.

Even if the Ming army could not wipe out the five-man rabble led by Otomo Qinzhi, it could at least inflict heavy losses on them, and it would be a sure war.

In the middle of Kyushu Island, Funai Castle is also not calm.

When Wang Zhi's Zhongnan army captured this place, they captured many prisoners one after another.

Although these Otomo soldiers had no armor and no decent horses, many of them were fierce breeds and seemed very uncooperative.

"If you want to kill, we will kill, we will never subjugate you Ming!" Hundreds of Otomo soldiers were escorted over, and the retainers led by him shouted very hard.

Wang Zhi, who was wearing a bullfighting suit, smiled, and even cast an approving glance at the retainer.

He was notorious for his ruthlessness in Xichang back then, and he was famous for his ruthlessness in the army, and he was even known as "Wang Ruthless".

Wang Zhi slowly swept over all the Otomo soldiers present, a thick smile appeared on his face, and his eyes revealed a chilling chill.

"No...... No! ”

Some of the soldiers originally looked like they were at home, but when they noticed Wang Zhi's cold gaze, they were immediately frightened, but they shook their heads one after another.

The corners of Wang Zhi's mouth hooked up a cruel smile, as if he was enjoying this game of life and death: "Don't ...... Stay! ”

As the last ruthless word came out, the knife and axe men of the surrounding Zhongnan garrison immediately stepped forward and pressed the bound soldiers to the ground, and some people kicked them to the ground.

"Spare your life!"

"I ...... We can discuss! ”

"Don't, don't, we...... We surrender! ”

……

Some people tried to struggle, but they couldn't do it at all, so they had to cry out absolutely, and they begged for mercy, but it was all in vain.

Burst! Burst! Burst!

Blades fell, blood splattered out, and the lives of the soldiers were being lost one by one, leaving behind a trail of corpses in the clearing.

"Anyone who refuses to submit to my Ming will be killed!" Wang Zhi stood on the high platform and announced coldly at this time.

"I surrender!"

"I obey!"

"Long live the Ming Emperor!"

……

Although it is true that some of the fierce seeds were beheaded for resistance, more Otomo soldiers saw the situation clearly and surrendered and obeyed one after another.

Not to mention that in the future, they will go to the Indochina Peninsula to become military slaves, even if they are made eunuchs, they dare not say a word "no" now.

In the end, under the baptism of blood, not only the castle of Funai was surrendered, but the surrounding small lords also came to surrender one after another.

In the next few days, the forces in the southern part of Kyushu Island also took the initiative to surrender.

They also fell into the food trap set by Zhu Youji, and now they can't survive the food crisis at all, and only by surrendering to the Ming Dynasty can they have a way out.

The Hinata clan has done a good job in resuming the production of autumn grain this year, but they see that the rice in the field is about to ripen, but they know that if they don't surrender voluntarily, they will definitely not see the day when the crops will ripen.

Immediately after the Hyuga, the southern forces such as Sagara, Arima, and Shimazu all came to surrender.

The geographical location of Kyushu Island is special, facing Japan's Honshu Island across the sea, and it is relatively close to China, so it originally served as a transit point for the spread of Chinese civilization to Japan.

It is recorded that around the fourth century B.C., Chinese rice cultivation techniques were introduced to the island of Honshu in Japan via the island of Kyushu and then to Japan.

However, the strength of Honshu Island is stronger than that of Kyushu Island, and the indigenous Hayato people of Kyushu were initially regarded as aliens, and then slowly absorbed by present-day Japan.

Now the Ming Dynasty wants to occupy the entire island of Kyushu, but it has not encountered too strong resistance from the locals, and there is not even a national sentiment.

The Ouchi clan may be very disgusted, but some traditional forces do not have a strong sense of belonging to Japan, so they do not have much emotion.

Anyway, they all want to hug their thighs, and it is obvious that the Ming Dynasty is a hundred times stronger than Japan, so why not find a thicker one?

Mt. Tsuki, Yamaguchi Castle.

Masahiro Ouchi sat in the conference hall, facing the results of the battle passed on from Kyushu Island, and the air around him seemed to be a little colder.

His chest rose and fell violently, and every breath was accompanied by a heavy gasp, as if he wanted to vent the anger and unwillingness in his heart. His fists were clenched, and his joints turned white from overexertion.

Hate, he hated, didn't understand how this could be the result.

"Defeated?"

"It's surrender!"

"That's a slap in the face!"

……

Ouchi Yoshihei and his retainers knelt on both sides, bowing their heads at the moment and not daring to speak, but as if they could communicate with each other.

Since the head of the family returned from Iwami Province, their head of the family categorically stated that he would not give in to the Ming Dynasty, but asked Ouchi Kyoyuki, who was stationed in Kitakyushu, to lead the Ouchi family soldiers to fight to the death.

It's just that the Ouchi Sect stationed in Kitakyushu is fortunate not to say that he fought to the death, but he shouldn't fight at all, and he actually handed over the territory of Ouchi Castle and Kitakyushu to others.

"That's the territory of our Ouchi clan!" Masahiro Ouchi finally couldn't help but roar angrily, and his voice echoed in the conference hall, "How can the territory that my Ouchi clan ancestors have worked so hard to build up, how can I give it to others?!" ”

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his heart was a hundred unwilling to accept this result.

In particular, he was reckless and chose to start a war with Daming in a dignified manner, but his clan uncle didn't even say hello, so he let Kitakyushu out.

"Family master, this has come to this, let's think about what to do next, right?" Tao Hongquan prevented the big internal Masahiro from losing his temper, and also kindly reminded him.

In fact, he had already guessed that this would be the result, and once persuaded Ouchi Masahiro to take the initiative to give up Kitakyushu and repair relations with the Ming Dynasty, but Ouchi Masahiro's insistence on Kitakyushu was too deep, and it would be more accurate to say that the head of the family was too obsessed with Kyushu Island.

The Ouchi clan is located in the western part of the island of Honshu, and now the only way to expand its territory is to the east and west. It's just that the forces in the east belong to the camp of the Eastern Army, and none of the forces are strong enemies that are vegetarians, so the best target for expansion is Kyushu Island across the sea.

It's just a pity that the strength of the Ming Dynasty is too strong, even unstoppable. This time, not only did he take Kitakyushu without a single soldier, but he also secretly transferred a secret army to take the old nest of the Otomo family.

"Dad, let's immediately build a ship and slaughter all those Ming people!" Ouchi Yoshixing is still a teenager, and immediately proposed.

Kurada Masayori and other retainers did not rush to express their position, but took the opportunity to silently observe the reaction of Masahiro Ouchi.

Masahiro Ouchi, who was full of anger, really wanted to fight, but when he heard his son's proposal, he glared at him soberly: "Don't say such brainless nonsense!" What are we going to fight now, do you want the Ouchi family to be ruined in the hands of your father? ”

"I ......" Ouchi Yoshixing originally followed his father's wishes, but now he had to scratch his ears and cheeks.

Tao Hongquan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and now that Da Nei Zhenghong has such a clear understanding, it shows that this self-defeating war cannot be fought.

To be more precise, their Ouchi clan will not take the initiative to cross the Guanshan Strait to attack Daming this time, but it is difficult to say on Daming's side.

They were the first daimyo to receive the favor of the Ming Dynasty, but in the end they chose to rebel and still owe someone the right to mine a Iwami silver mine.

If Da Ming used this as an excuse to beat them, they really couldn't refute it.

"The head of the family, the ministers think that the most important thing is to solve the food problem we are facing!" Tao Qiandao narrowly escaped last time, and now he is also loyally proposing.

Kurada Masanori and Ishibashi Kuro silently exchanged glances, in fact, this proposal was equivalent to promoting the Ouchi family to repair the relationship with the Ming Dynasty.

After all, now the Ouchi family wants to get a large amount of food, but there is no other way except for the Ming Dynasty, who is sitting on the wealth of the world.

Grain?

Although Masahiro Ouchi was saddened by the loss of Kitakyushu, he knew that the difficulties of the Ouchi clan had not passed, and he couldn't help but secretly have a headache.

This time, their Ouchi clan was blocked by the Ming Dynasty's economy, but it was necessary to tie the bell to the bell. Only if they take the initiative to repair relations with the Ming Dynasty, can their Da Nei family reopen trade with the Ming Dynasty, so that they can trade a large amount of grain from the Ming merchants.

Originally, he didn't want to give in to the scheming Da Ming, but when he thought of the people who were suffering from hunger, he knew that he was no longer qualified to argue with Da Ming.

If the food problem is not solved well, even if the Ming Dynasty does not send troops to recruit their Ouchi clan, they may also fall apart within the Ouchi clan.

It was at this moment that a messenger hurried into the council chamber.

Tao Hongquan and other retainers knew that they were not allowed to break in unless they were important, so they couldn't help but turn their heads to look at the letter in the hand of this messenger, knowing that there might be an emergency.

"Could it be that Daming called?"

Ishibashi Kuro sighed in his heart, and immediately had a bad association.

Tao Qiandao also had the same thought, and couldn't help swallowing and foaming with difficulty.

After Masahiro Ouchi received the information, his forehead suddenly rose with blue tendons, and his face looked extremely gloomy.

"Father, what's going on?" Ouchi Yoshixing didn't have too many scruples, so he asked directly.

Daiuchi Masahiro glared at his son, and then slowly looked at the retainers present: "Just now there was information from Iwami Province that the Nizi family has occupied our Iwami silver mine!" ”

The Niko clan, a force located to the east of the Ouchi family, sits on the Izumo Province and Oki Island.

The Niko clan was a side branch of the Kyogoku clan, which in turn was the guardian daimyo of the countries of Kita-Omi Province, Izumo, and Oki.

At that time, because the Kyogoku clan was busy with the conquest of the Minami Omi Rokkaku clan, they did not have time to take care of Izumo Province and Oki Island in the western country, so they sent Niko Kiyoshi to govern Izumo Province and Oki Island.

In 1478, he passed the position of governor to his son, who was in his twenties at the time.

In 1484, the shogunate issued an order to conquer Niko and attack Gassan Tomita Castle because of the long disregard of the shogunate and the interception of a piece of money.

After a long defeat and exile, he chose to join his grandfather's family, the Maki clan, and lived in seclusion for nearly two years.

On New Year's Day in 1486, more than 70 members of the Hema Party, dressed in costumes and with armor and blades inside, went to Mt. Tsukiyama Tomita Castle to perform the Chiaki Banzai Dance.

After entering the city, Nizi and his retainers hid in the Hema party and infiltrated the city, and after entering the city, Nizi Jingjiu led the crowd to set fire to the city and raided the defenders of the city.

At the age of twenty-nine, Niko recaptured Tsukiyama Tomita and reunified Izumo Province once again, taking a solid step towards the way of the Sengoku Daimyo.

It's just that who would have thought that this Izumo Province's guardian Niko, nicknamed the Wolf of Yunzhou, would suddenly infect Iwami Province, the leader country, after many years of recuperation, and occupy the Iwami Silver Mine, which has hundreds of millions of taels of silver.

When Tao Hongquan learned the whole story, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Nizi has been robbing for a long time!" ”

If their Ouchi clan was in its heyday, even if Ouchi had been famous for his strategy for a long time, how could a small Izumo country guardian dare to offend their Ouchi clan.

Even the Kyogoku clan, the main family behind Niko, had to sell their Ouchi clan's face.

It's just that now that the Ouchi clan has lost Kitakyushu and is facing a serious food crisis, this jumping clown dares to take the opportunity to occupy the Iwami silver mine.

"Let's send troops to slaughter Nizi now!" Kurada Masayori is an impulsive character, and even if he makes a statement.

Masahiro Ouchi hesitated for a moment, but added: "Niko said for a long time that he had no intention of instructing our Iwami country's territory!" Because the Ming Dynasty occupied their Oki Island and mined gold mines on the Oki Island, they wanted to take the Ming Dynasty's Iwami Silver Mine as compensation! ”

Oki Island, that is, the East Pole Island renamed by the Ming Dynasty.

Originally, Nizi didn't pay much attention to that island for a long time, but after learning that there was a steady stream of gold mines on it, the whole person's mentality exploded.

He knew that he didn't have the strength to go to Oki Island to conquer the Ming Dynasty, so he retreated to the second best thing and chose to go to the isolated Iwami Province to grab the Iwami Silver Mine that "belonged to the Ming Dynasty".

When Ishibashi Kuro and the others heard this explanation, half of the anger in their hearts suddenly disappeared.

"Although the mining rights of Iwami Silver Mine belong to the Ming Dynasty, how can we Iwami Country be able to garrison troops by him?" Ouchi Yoshixing did not sympathize with the Niko family, but expressed his attitude.

Tao Hongquan hesitated for a moment, but expressed his opinion and said: "Family master, since the Ouchi clan is not trying to seize the stone and see the country, we can put this matter aside for a while, and it is better to give priority to solving the food problem now." ”

"Your Majesty thinks that this time we can send the young master to lobby, which can show our sincerity even more!" Tao Qiandao knew that if he wanted to break the ice, he needed to add chips, so he even proposed.

Ouchi Yoshixing's brows furrowed, and he finally chose not to say anything.

Masahiro Ouchi silently closed his eyes, as if he had made a great determination and said: "The eldest lady has always longed for Chinese culture, let her go with her this time!" ”

"Yes!" Tao Qiandao's eyes lit up slightly, even if he was happy.

The next morning, the sun shone on the sparkling sea.

"Sister, haven't you always said that Da Ming's Tu Qing bow is powerful? Let's go to the capital city of Daming this time, so we will secretly buy two handfuls back, and our sister and brother will have one each! Ouchi Yoshiko is full of expectations for this mission, and he also said his plan.

Saeko Ouchi wears a traditional Japanese kimono like a peony blooming in the middle of summer, which is both noble and delicate.

Her long hair was silky and gently pulled back to reveal her slender and fair neck. Those eyes were as deep as the sea, shining with wisdom and courage.

Saeko Ouchi smiled at her younger brother, who was dancing with her eyebrows, and then nodded slightly.

As the ship grew farther and farther away from the shoreline of Honshu Island, she suddenly looked back, and her beautiful eyes were already full of tears.

Because the Ouchi clan wanted to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, Huo Guangming, who was patrolling the Guanshan Strait, did not embarrass them, and let them go to Zhou Fang Da Nei's house to meet the general Xu Shiying.

After Xu Shiying saw the letter from Masahiro Ouchi, he arranged for a ship to send this delegation to Daming.

It's just that the direction of this sea ship is quite surprising, not heading northwest to Tianjin Port, but after leaving Kyushu Island, it actually sailed towards the mouth of the Yangtze River. (End of chapter)